SIU terminates investigation after determining that man’s injury in Barrie cell ‘self-inflicted’

Ontario’s police watchdog has terminated an investigation into an injury sustained by a 37-year-old man while he was in a police cell in Barrie.

“Following the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, it is apparent that the man’s injury was self-inflicted,” Special Investigations Unit director Joseph Martino said in a statement.

“The video recordings of the man’s booking and time in cells are definitive in this regard. Consequently, as there is patently nothing to investigate as far as the potential criminal liability of any police officer or officers is concerned, the SIU investigation is hereby discontinued.”

On Dec. 8, Barrie police officers arrested a man and transported him to the station, where he was put in a cell, according to the SIU.

While inside the cell, the man struck the Plexiglas with his right hand and was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured hand, the SIU says.

The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

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